Playing Poker At Work
Poker is all about reticence. The misdirect. Mislead. Bluff your way through. It’s possible to win (and to win big) without having a lot in your hand.
When the game is about hiding your inability to produce, it’s imperative to keep those cards close to your chest.
Of course, no one will trust you. But in Poker it doesn’t matter. You also don’t trust them. It’s a game of withholding. Of bluffing. Of sunglasses and shaded visors.
If you’re good enough, you win big with a pair of twos (or worse).
Organizational leadership is nothing like playing poker.
Even though a lot of leaders try.
Cards close. Visors down. Don’t divulge too much information, lest the rest of the room know you’re bluffing your way through this.
It’s possible to lead this way. But it’s not a good way to lead. There’s no free-flowing information. Team culture becomes a game. It’s political and dangerous. In the end, it’s not much fun. No one trusts a person wearing sunglasses indoors.
Stop playing poker at work.
For organizational leaders, it’s far better to put your cards on the table and to be teachable than to hide your vulnerabilities and keep essential information from going to your people. That’s keeping your sunglasses on.
Trust and teachability are are better leadership assets than bluffing, secrecy, and an unwillingness to get better.
